This invention relates generally to spraying apparatus for applying herbicides, for example, and more particularly to a unit which is adapted to be releasably mounted on the head of a sprayer for shielding spray emitted by the sprayer from the wind, and for enabling a more uniform relatively narrow-width distribution of the spray on the ground.
This invention has particular (albeit not exclusive) application to sprayers of the type shown in Gill U.S. Pat. No. 4,609,148 where the sprayer comprises a relatively long tube connected at one end to a supply of liquid to be sprayed, a spray head at the other end of the tube, and a rotatable disc or spinner mounted on the head for spraying liquid generally radially outwardly relative to the axis of rotation of the spinner. In use, a sprayer of this type is typically held in a position where the axis of the spinner is generally vertical so that the liquid being sprayed is flung outwardly in a generally circular horizontal pattern. While the sprayer is typically adjustable to vary the diameter of this pattern, it has heretofore not been adjustable to provide a very small-diameter pattern (e.g., two inches or less) useful in spraying sidewalk cracks and in edging. One solution to this problem is to hold the tube so the spinner axis is generally horizontal and liquid is flung outwardly by the spinner in a generally vertical plane with the spray pattern having a horizontal dimension or width of about two inches or less. However, this pattern is especially susceptible to being blown sideways by the wind, which could result in application of the liquid to areas where it is undesirable.